Straight-Line Quilting – Not For The Faint of Heart
January 26, 2010 at 12:39 am 13 comments
Isabel sometimes circles around the many baskets of fabric around here and she takes her time deciding which one she likes best while flinging each one out. It’s unmistakable when she procalims which one is hers. Patting her chest she holds up the winner and says, “Ba Ba. Yeah…Ba Ba.” Ba Ba is what she calls herself. We don’t know why. So, in this particular instance, and because she already has flawless taste in fabric amongst other finer things in life, she grabbed the above blue fabric. Yes. A yard of everyone’s favorite out of print fabric, Flea Market Fancy.
But, the situation was that Isabel was about to have heart surgery and I told her to tell me which one she liked best. Having claimed it as hers, I then asked her if she wanted it for something to wear or for her own quilt. She took her hand, put it on her cheek, and tipped her head sideways, making the international hand gesture for sleep. “Ban-bet” (Blanket for those of you who don’t speak Isabel)
So, I dropped everything I was doing and made this quilt top in just a few hours. She checked in on me and the progress every 15 minutes or so and always proclaimed it hers and that she liked it.
It’s nearly done as you can see and in my stressed-out and worried state, I figured that it was high-time I started a new way of quilting. I dove in and starting in the middle I began straight-line quilting. Also, I decided to keep the lines more or less 1/4 inch apart. Riiight! What was I thinking? This method really is an homage to your walking foot. I believe there would be many puckers and lots of swearing if you tried this without one. 
Just a few hundred more lines and we’ll call this done.
Entry filed under: blankets, blog love, design, fabric, Flea Market Fancy, home, kids, quilting, quilts, Sewing, Stash, wip, wonky. Tags: .
1.
Audrie | January 26, 2010 at 1:37 am
You are a brave soul. I’d be weeping if I were you hehe But I have to say it’s gorgeous… and definitely appreciated by little Ba Ba
My niece Ava calls herself Ah-Da hehe
2.
Katy | January 26, 2010 at 1:51 am
Yep. I’m doing the same with my spiderweb. If I had thought about it first with sensible head on I’d have done inch spaces, and then filled it in if I wanted. But nooooooooooooooo, 1/4 inch spaces. What fun.
3.
Nancy | January 26, 2010 at 5:03 am
My new love is is straight line quilting, but I don’t really worry if the lines are straight and I do three lines and then leave a space and then three more lines. I love it…. here is a photo for you….
http://withthreadinhand.blogspot.com/2009/10/new-quilt.html
4.
giselle | January 26, 2010 at 7:04 am
love it!!!! love the colors, love the quilting, love the unique blocks. so impressed with how fast you’ve pulled this together.
5.
wishes, true and kind | January 26, 2010 at 11:20 am
So much work — but it looks sooooooooo great!
6.
carolyn | January 26, 2010 at 3:30 pm
I just learned a handy tip…for every 5 hours of home quilting change your needle! Really help things run more smoothly.
Lucky Isabel.
7.
Sew Katie Did | January 26, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Gorgeous. I LOVE straight stitch. I just combined this same flea market fancy and some solid orange too. How could you not.
8.
adina | January 26, 2010 at 7:06 pm
it’s going to be a great ben bet, Tina.
love, love,love…
9.
jaybird | January 27, 2010 at 5:17 am
time consuming yes… mind numbing… yes… but in the end so pretty & so worth it!
10.
stephanie | January 27, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Oh, so YOU’RE the little genius that came up with this beauty – I have been admiring it on Flickr!! It’s absolutely gorgeous. What a lucky little girl.
11.
Lisa | January 31, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I absolutely LOVE this quilt. I’m so glad the surgery went well and she has this wonderful blanket to come home to. What a devoted mom!
12.
cheryl | February 5, 2010 at 9:47 pm
It looks amazing! I did a similar stitch on my first and only quilt so far — but it’s crib size! Really amazing work; thanks for sharing.
13.
Hannah | December 17, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Wow!! I was so discouraged trying free motion quilting for the first time and was frustrated because I didn’t think straight line quilting could look so elegant! Fabulous job. You’ve inspired me…however maybe I’ll consider spacing the lines further? Seems like that may be what you recomend from reading your blog (to save time). I would love to know the total amount of time it took you to do this, if you care to share (or if you kept track)..I do love how close the lines are and how it looks.